Waterstone's, which opened its flagship store two hours' early to cope with the expected crowds, said it had seen "phenomenal" sales. The book shot straight to the top of the best-seller list at Amazon.co.uk, while WHSmith, Tesco and Asda reported huge demand.

The book, which features Harvard symbologsit Robert Langdon as the hero, became the fastest-selling title at Waterstone's since the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007. Simon Burke, buying manager for fiction, said: "The Lost Symbol is vintage Dan Brown and readers can't wait to get their hands on what is set to be the thriller of the decade."

An Asda spokesman said sales had been "staggering", with 18,000 copies sold in the first few hours.

There was no repeat of the frenzied scenes which regularly greeted the release of the Harry Potter books, however. At Waterstone's flagship store in Piccadilly, signed copies were still available several hours after opening time.

Brown became a literary sensation with The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 80 million copies since its publication in 2003. Critics have derided the novel and its prequel, Angels & Demons, as hokum but the books have made him one of the world's best-paid authors.